Political and Public Relations Adviser to the Prime Minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah stated that the newly passed 26th Constitutional Amendment blocked the path of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah to become the Chief Justice. He also pointed out that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had a more significant share in this development than the government.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led government, with the help of allies including the PPP, introduced controversial laws in both the lower and upper houses of parliament, changing the procedure for appointment of future CJPs, fixing the tenure of the office and creating constitutional benches.

In an interview with BBC On Thursday, Sanaullah described PTI as a party descending into chaos and said, “The person they support will eventually face harm.”

Praising Justice Mansoor, the Prime Minister’s advisor said: “PTI MPs say they have reached an understanding with Justice Mansoor.”

He added: “Judge Mansoor will take office in October, where he will take action against the government.”

Sanaullah warned that such comments could damage anyone’s credibility.

Before the passage of the 26th amendment, the senior second judge, Justice Mansoor, was to assume the post of CJP as he was the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after the retirement of CJP Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

However, the seniority rule was removed from the Constitution. After the 26th amendment, the selection of the next chief justice will no longer be based solely on seniority, but will instead be chosen from among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.

A 12-member special parliamentary committee will decide on the chief justice’s nomination by a two-thirds majority. The committee will then forward the selected name to the prime minister, who will then send the nomination to the president for final approval.